1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a side-by-side refrigerator, and more particularly, to a door-opening apparatus and method for easily opening doors of a side-by-side refrigerator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a refrigerator serves to store food in a fresh state for a long period of time, and includes a refrigerating cycle for cooling storage chambers, which store foods. According to the recent increase in demand for large-sized and high-quality refrigerators, a side-by-side refrigerator, the inside of which is divided into left and right storage chambers having large capacities, has been developed.
The inside of a cabinet of the side-by-side refrigerator is divided into the left and right storage chambers. Usually, the left storage chamber is used as a freezing chamber, and the right storage chamber is used as a chilling chamber. Apparatuses, such as a dispenser for easily taking ice cubes or water out of the storage chambers or a home-bar for easily taking a beverage bottle out of the storage chambers, may be additionally installed on doors for opening and closing the freezing and chilling chambers.
A user opens the door, and places or removes food in or from the storage chamber. In order to prevent cold air in the storage chamber from leaking to the outside or external air from being introduced into the storage chamber, a gasket made of rubber is installed on the circumference of the inside of the door, thereby hermetically closing the storage chamber. Accordingly, when the door is closed, the air communication between the insides of the storage chamber and the outside is cut off.
When the door is opened and then closed, external air is introduced into the storage chamber. The introduced external air is gradually cooled as time goes by, and is reduced in specific volume, thereby decreasing the pressure in the storage chamber compared to that of the outside. Accordingly, when the user wants to re-open the door, the user must apply force, having a degree for overcoming a difference of pressures between the storage chamber and the outside, to the door. As occasion demands, the user must apply comparatively large force to the door so as to open the door. Particularly, in a side-by-side refrigerator comprising doors having a heavy weight and storage chambers having a large capacity, the above problem is severely generated, thereby providing inconvenience to the user.
In order to solve the above problem, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-257466 discloses a door-opening apparatus for a refrigerator, which uses a cam driven by a motor. In order to apply the door-opening apparatus to a side-by-side refrigerator, the door-opening apparatus must be installed on each of two doors of the side-by-side refrigerator, thereby increasing production costs of the refrigerator and reducing the productivity of the refrigerator.